SS.
Cyril & Methodius
Bulgarian Orthodox Mission
Website: www.bocdc.org
McLean, VA
Palm Sunday
Entrance of Our Lord into
Jerusalem
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Orthodox Church in
America
Diocese of Washington
and New York
V.Rev. Timothy Perry, Priest-in-charge
Ms. Nadya Choparinoff, President
Mr. George Kochev, Vice-President
Ms. Elena Murphy, Treasurer
Ms. Elisabeth Sipkov-Pi–eros, Secretary
Mr. Larry Woods, Council Member
Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem (PALM SUNDAY)
Palm Sunday is the celebration of the triumphant entrance of Christ
into the royal city of Jerusalem. He rode on a colt for which He Himself had
sent, and He permitted the people to hail Him publicly as a king. A large crowd
met Him in a manner befitting royalty, waving palm branches and placing their
garments in His path. They greeted Him with these words: "Hosanna! Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel! (John 12:13).
This day together with the raising of Lazarus are signs pointing beyond
themselves to the mighty deeds and events which consummate Christ's earthly ministry.
The time of fulfillment was at hand. Christ's raising of Lazarus points to the
destruction of death and the joy of resurrection which will be accessible to
all through His own death and resurrection. His entrance into Jerusalem is a
fulfillment of the messianic prophecies about the king who will enter his holy
city to establish a final kingdom. "Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass" (Zech
9:9).
Finally, the events of these triumphant two days are but the passage to
Holy Week: the "hour" of suffering and death for which Christ came.
Thus the triumph in a earthly sense is extremely short-lived. Jesus enters
openly into the midst of His enemies, publicly saying and doing those things
which most. enrage them. The people themselves will soon reject' Him. They
misread His brief earthly triumph as a sign of something else: His emergence as
a political. messiah who will lead them to the glories of an earthly kingdom.
Our Pledge
The liturgy of the Church is more than meditation or praise concerning
past events. It communicates to us the eternal presence and power of the events
being celebrated and makes us participants in those events. Thus the services
of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday bring us to our own moment of life and
death and entrance into the Kingdom of God: a Kingdom not of this world, a
Kingdom accessible in the Church through
repentance and baptism.
On Palm Sunday palm and willow branches are blessed in the Church. We
take them in order to raise them up and greet the King and Ruler of our life:
Jesus Christ. We take them in order to reaffirm our baptismal pledges. As the
One who raised Lazarus and entered Jerusalem to go to His voluntary Passion
stands in our midst, we are faced with the same question addressed to us at
baptism: "Do you accept Christ?" We give our answer by daring to take
the branch and raise it up: "I accept Him as King and God!"
Thus, on the eve of Christ's Passion, in the /celebration of the joyful
cycle of the triumphant days of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, we reunite
ourselves to Christ, affirm His Lordship lover the totality of our life and
express our :readiness to follow Him to His Kingdom:
... that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share
his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible 1 may attain
the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:10-11).
Author - The Very Rev. Paul Lazor
Saints
Commemorated Today
ENTRY OF OUR LORD INTO JERUSALEM (Palm Sunday). Ven. Theodore Trichinas (Òthe Hair-shirt WearerÓ),
Hermit, near Constantinople. Ven. Alexander, Abbot of Oshevensk (1479). Child
Martyr Gabriel of Bialystok (1690). Ss. Gregory (593) and Anastasius the
Sinaite (599), Patriarchs of Antioch. Ven. Anastasius, Abbot of Sinai (695).
Those Who Are In Need of
Prayer
Jane, Catherine, Albana,
Presbyteras Marie, Miriam, Barbara, Artemis, Barbara, & Marie, Priests Photius,
Joseph, Anthony, and Joseph.
May Their Memory Be Eternal
Archbishop GREGORY; Priests
Peter, Leo, Homer, Ishmael, Elary, & Michael; Presbyteras Elizabeth,
Platonida, Stephanida, Sophronia, & Mary; Reader Robert Michael; Christo,
Radka, Anna, Christophor, Dale, Carmel, Thomas, Vasili, Mary Ellen, Radka, George, Mary, Panigote, Marianthe, Rada, &
Julia.
Service Schedule:
Services at SS Cyril & Methodius begin at 2:00
Services at St. George begin at 12:30
April 12 - Palm Sunday, @ SS Cyril & Methodius
April 19 - Pascha, @ location, below: (Begins 11:30 PM Sat. night)
April 26 - St. George feast day @St. George - TENTATIVE.
May 3 - Myrrhbearing Women, @ SS Cyril & Methodius
May 10 - SS Cyril & Methodius day @ SS Cyril & Methodius
May 17 - Samaritan Women, @ St. George - TENTATIVE.
May 24 - Blind Man, @ SS Cyril & Methodius
Note: Services at St.
George are ÔtentativeÕ as they cancelled their recent service on April 5 due to
insufficient funds. Future
services as announced.
Location of Services
SS Cyril & Methodius services are held at St. Luke Serbian
Orthodox Church, 6801 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22101.
St. George services are held at: 10201 Democracy Boulevard.,
Potomac, MD 20854
Velikden / Easter / Pascha Service
Our service will be hosted by the same
church we have used in previous years:
Christ Lutheran Church, 8011 Old Georgetown Rd,
Bethesda .
The service will begin at 11:30 PM on
Saturday, April 18 and will consist, as traditionally served in Orthodox
Churches, of Nocturns, Easter Matins, and the Easter Divine Liturgy.
A potluck community meal will follow in
the hall downstairs.
Parish
Council Meeting
The next Parish Council Meeting will take place on
Thursday, May 14 between 7 and 9 PM.
The meeting will take place at St. Luke Serbian Orthodox Church in
McLean, VA. The meeting is open to
the public.
International Orthodox Christian Charities
This organization is a
pan-Orthodox charity with activities throughout the world. It is possible to specifically
designate where your donation goes.
www.iocc.org
